The day book. (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, January 09, 1913, Image 10

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

throw from one base to anotherwith a fair degree of certaintythat he won't throw it over thegrandstand or carrom it off" thestomach of an innocent policemana hundred feet back of the leftfoul line?""Things were different in OURday, Colonel," I prompted."Different? Why, back in theearly '80's did you ever see aA modern backstop.catcher wear a soft pillow on hishand or a mattress all over hisfront elevation or armor plate onhis shins?"Moi of course not ; not even amaafc, my boy! Infielders andoutfielders alike played with barehands, and a recruit couldn't evenget a try-out if he had a straightfinger on either paw!"Ah!" sighed the Colonel, signaling the waiter for anotherround, "Ah, Dudley, my friend,those were the happy days !"After a few reflective sips fromhis replenished glass the militantold-timer resumed."Everything about the gametoday tends- towards automaticor mechanical baseball, and thetime is coming, if we continue todrift, where it will be about asexciting for a spectator to look atas the machinery of a steam laundry in. operation."If I live for a few more yearsI fully expect to see infielders istopping low hit balls with a sixfoot length of fence board andfielding them with a machine gunor a slingshot. Outfielders willcatch flies in a dip-net while lolling in a wheel chair propelled bya colored valet. Pitchers will becarried from the field after oneinning's work, and packed inmedicated cotton batting forthree days, attended in sumptuous luxury by a breathless retinueof trainers, masseurs, pulmoteroperators and trained nurses."And, should he have chancedto pitch a hitless inning, the bigroughneck's portrait will be blazoned on every sporting page inthis broad land!"Training camps ! Piffle ! Giveme some good, old-fashionedbaseball!"Upon this we silently touchedglasses, up-ended them and, armin arm, went forth into the night.I'd like to decant a bit of prattle right here concerning themodern baseball hero as an iddi-tion to dramatic art, but, upon - 49second tnougnt, i Deneve it win,in justice to so important a topic,require a chapter to itself.Uncle Dud.Germany possesses 1,500 moving picture shows, of which thereare 300 in Berlin.ma